Fruit Machines

Fall 2015
Presidents Forum
By Ed Jacobsen
All in all, our lakes had a great summer. We had a
scare in early June as a Eurasian Water Milfoil
plant was found in
Townline Lake. It
was a large, wellestablished plant,
and, when there is
one, there are
usually many.
Well, we looked
and looked and
didn’t find another.
A month later we did find another, which was
pulled, but no more. Along those lines, the area
affected in Virgin Lake has been cut back significantly. We feel that the few EWM plants that
Onterra mapped this fall can be managed.
Perhaps that will change but the progress we made
this spring has been impressive.
Now another invasive has reared its ugly head and
that is the State Legislature. They have passed a
budget bill that prevents more protective local
shoreline zoning by towns, counties, or cities. They
have created one-size-fits-all shoreland zoning on
all Wisconsin waterways, treating the waters in
Southern Wisconsin in the same manner as all the
lakes in Oneida and Vilas Counties. Many lakes
cannot tolerate a developed shoreline, with a house
every 100 feet but that is the new rule. In the long
run, this can be devastating to our northern
Wisconsin waterways. There were no public
hearings, no public input of any kind, and it was not
passed through the normal legislative process but
inserted instead into the budget by Senator Tom
Tiffany. We are cooperating with other lake groups
in an attempt to get a bipartisan repeal of this bill,
and, if the proposed specific changes have merit,
let them be reintroduced into the proper legislative
venue.
Our annual meeting time was changed from a
beautiful Saturday morning to a Thursday night so
more people would be willing and able to attend. I
am happy to announce that we had the same
number of people as we always have. The
program was very interesting with short but
meaningful presentations made by County
Chairman Dave Hintz and Oneida County land and
water conservation expert Michele Sadauskas. Rick
Foral and Bob Martini from Oneida County Lakes
and Rivers Association discussed the effect lake
quality has on property values. All three of these
presentations were focused on how invasives and
careless zoning laws can affect your property
values. (See report later in this newsletter.) At
least we can still work on the invasives, as zoning
seems to be out of our hands. On another note, we
had a record number of members attend the
summer wrap-up party for volunteers at Irish
Waters. Maybe we should have the annual
meeting at Irish Waters.
We have greatly improved the two most important
priority programs: Clean Boats/Clean Waters and
Adopt-A-Shoreline. Bob Agen expanded our
CB/CW intern program to three interns while
keeping a strong core of volunteers to watch for
invasives at our landings. Bruce Renquist has
established an AAS lake captain for almost all of
our lakes for our lake shore monitoring program
where volunteers cruise the shoreline looking for
foreign plants that might be trying to invade our
lakes. These two key programs, along with our
membership drive spearheaded by Mike Freehill,
have netted us an important recognition from
Oneida County Land and Water management for
outstanding work as a lake association. With over
1,000 members we are one of the largest in the
State.
Read on, all of these issues will be addressed in
the following pages. Thanks for being members!
2015 AAS LAKE CAPTAINS
By Bruce Renquist
(A TLWA program where volunteers monitor a
stretch of shoreline on their lake in search of
Aquatic Invasive Species that could threaten the
lake.)
We are in the process of winding down another
successful summer of Adopt-A-Shoreline. We
continue to support our volunteers with educational
programs and are actively recruiting new monitors.
We have 108 miles of shoreline on the Three Lakes
Chain and need more eyes on the water to combat
the threat of a growing number of invasives that
could alter our lakes forever.
Early detection is the key.
This summer, a single but
robust Eurasian Water
Milfoil plant was found on
Townline Lake. No doubt
it was brought in by a
watercraft from another
lake. A rapid response protocol was initiated. The
plant was carefully, promptly and professionally
removed. Subsequent inspections of Townline
have revealed no further evidence of EWM.
Adopt-A-Shoreline participation requires some
nominal training on plant identification and then
only 3 or 4 boat rides lasting an hour or two during
the summer season. A small and pleasant price to
pay for helping to guarantee the long-term health of
your lake.
Educational Workshops
Once in June and again in July, workshops were
conducted on Virgin Lake. Well attended by
interested lake people, the hands-on experience
successfully informed us on the wide variety of
Big Fork – Walt Bredesen – 715-546-2017
Big – Ed Cottingham – 715-546-4298
Big Stone – Eric Wick – 715-546-3587
Crystal – Mike Donovan – 715-550-8282
Deer - Kevin Affeldt – 414-690-0606
Dog – Bob Jacobs – 262-894-8977
Four Mile – Bob Pfeffer – 262-284-2333
Island – OPEN
Julia – David Mitzner – 715-546-2583
Laurel – Mary Hasler – 715-546-8305
Little Fork – Bob Lee – 715-546-3674
Long – Jack Werner – 715-546-9094
Maple – Jim Skelton – 715-367-6638
Medicine – Bruce Renquist – 715-546-2401
Moccasin – Julie Tryczak – 715-546-2834
Planting Ground – Norris Ross – 715-546-2250
Range Line – Mike Rieck – 715-546-3647
Round – Bob Bichler – 715-546-3481
Mike Freehill – 715-546-3059
Spirit – John & Cindy Lake – 715-546-2117
Thoroughfare – Paul Matthiae – 715-546-3453
Townline – Keith Mueller – 715-546-3688
Virgin – Bob Borek – 715-546-3457
Whitefish – OPEN
Aquatic Invasive Species that threaten northern
Wisconsin Lakes and our Chain in particular.
Scientific background was provided by Michele
Sadauskas, AIS Coordinator, Oneida County Land
& Water Conservation. Michele and her staff
assisted by experienced volunteers took
participants out on the lake to experience milfoil
first hand. Learning to identify a number of healthy
native plants as well as the invasives is a valuable
northwoods skill.
We are planning similar educational experiences
for the summer of 2016. Dates will be published in
the TLWA Spring Newsletter. Plan to join us.
Volunteers attend a workshop on Virgin Lake to be trained
on identification of EWM and other invasives.
By Bob Agen
After a slow rainy start to the season, boater traffic
soon picked up. At this writing 3235 boats have
been checked and 7968 people have been
educated on the dangers of invasives.
With the additional full time
student intern we were able to
offer better coverage at the
Sunset Grill landing and the
landing off Big Lake Loop
Road on Big Lake. Also, we
were able to offer some
coverage at the landing off
County X (Medicine Lake) and
provided some coverage at the
Laurel Lake Campground. Our two busiest
landings, Burnt Rollways and Townline were staffed
with three full time interns: Logan Kroll, Jena Miles,
and Derek Thorn.
Volunteer Sheila Swanlund examines samples of aquatic
vegetation to determine if it is EWM.
Volunteers continue to be a factor in our program
and I sure appreciate those who helped
out. Special thanks goes out to the volunteers who
worked at Sunset Grill and the Burnt Rollways
Lift. I hope to have them back next year and hope
to add new volunteers next year. Remember, each
hour spent at a landing is worth $12 in grant
money. Have a great off season and hope to have
more volunteers to go with our three paid students
next year. You can contact me at 715-546-3893 or
email [email protected]
Business Profile
Three Lakes Hardware &
Rental
The free tours attract visitors from all over the area.
The Waterfront Association reminds its members
that shopping locally is one of the best way to
preserve the beauty and functionality of Three
Lakes.
By Jerry Schiedt
Three Lakes has had a hardware store on the
same corner for over a half a century. That might
have changed during the winter of 2013 if a very
dedicated merchant and some of his friends had
not stepped in to save the business and keep that
local hardware store right where it belongs.
Mark McCain, co-owner of
the Three Lakes Winery,
along with his brother Scott
stopped into the hardware
store in 2013 and saw row
after row of empty shelves.
Mark asked the then owner
if he was going out of
business because that’s
what it looked like. Sadly
the answer was yes. Mark saw this as a disaster
for the downtown area of Three Lakes and quickly
formed a company comprised of Mark, Scott and a
handful of investors to buy the business and
building and save this landmark business.
Since then the store has been restocked and
changed in a number of ways, all for the better. It
is not easy to turn around a business like that but
the work is progressing with new inventory, a new
entrance and a greatly expanded rental business
that has helped to increase sales every month
since the buyout. The store is now owned and
operated by a group of local residents, some year
round and some seasonal, who care about our
downtown area and want to see it grow to better
serve the community.
Mark and Scott also
own several other
businesses in the
downtown area with
the keystone being
the Three Lakes
Winery. The Winery was opened in Three Lakes in
1972 by the late John McCain and his wife
Maureen and transitioned to Mark and Scott many
years ago. With its cornerstone location and
beautiful building the Winery serves as a hearty
welcome to residents and tourists alike.
Understanding Your Lake
Lake Turnover
By Fred Knoch
This article will be the first in a series of articles
appearing in the semiannual editions of the Three
Lakes Waterfront Association’s newsletter. The
scope of the pieces will be informational in nature,
the goal of which is to inform and educate the
TLWA members on lake dynamics and how to
better understand what they probably already
observe about the lake upon which they live or visit.
Water, or more specifically water in lakes, is one of
the precious resources that Wisconsin offers. Water
supports numerous industries, including
recreational/tourism which is the mainstay of our
local economy. Since it is the mission of the TLWA
to protect and preserve the water quality of the
Three Lakes Chain of 20 lakes, it is appropriate that
we all understand our most valuable resource so
we all can take part in protecting it.
There are many aspects of our lake system ecology
which are actively observed and monitored by
volunteers and professionals alike. Some of the
parameters studied include water clarity,
phosphorus and chlorophyll levels, identification
and treatment of invasive species, lake turnover,
temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, ice off
and on times, shoreline ecology, fishery health, and
stream flow observation. These topics will be
presented in an ongoing series of articles in the
newsletter.
I have chosen the first topic to be that of lake
turnover. Both seasonal and year-round residents
are aware by observation that lake water clarity
changes with the seasons. In the beginning of the
year as ice goes off, the water is observed to be
relatively clear. Then later the water is noted to be
more cloudy. This is the Spring turnover. As the
year proceeds, the lake is noted to be clearer than
it was. Then again in the Fall the water is observed
to become more cloudy. This is the Fall turnover.
The science behind the turnovers is that of the
specific and unique quality of water density and
how it relates to water temperature.
Most liquids become more dense, heavier, as they
cool, and less dense, lighter, as they become
warmer. Water behaves like this until the
temperature reaches 39 degrees Fahrenheit. At this
temperature water acts in an opposite manner. As
water cools below 39 it becomes less dense which
allows it to rise. During the Summer the cooler
water settles to the bottom of the lake, while the
less dense warmer water is at the top, and
stratification occurs. Any swimmer experiences this
fact. As the days become more cool as Summer
winds down, the surface water cools, becomes
more dense, and sinks. Eventually the lake
becomes almost homogeneous in temperature and
turnover begins. As the surface water becomes
more cool, and the bottom water relatively more
warm, a mixing occurs and sediments from the
bottom are distributed throughout the water column.
The lake becomes cloudy. This is the Fall turnover.
As the year progresses and days are colder, the
lake water continues to cool until the temperature of
39 degrees is reached, then water,uncharacteristically, becomes less dense and rises to the
surface. Eventually the surface water reaches 32
degrees and forms ice. In the Winter on a frozen
lake the ice/water interface is 32 degrees, and the
bottom water is 39 degrees.
In the Spring after the ice melts, the surface water
is warmed. The actions of wind, waves, and boating
mix the water column, and again the lake becomes
more homogeneous in temperature. The surface
water warms from 32degrees to 39 degrees, mixes
with the 39 degree bottom water, bottom sediments
are mixed in the water column, and the water
becomes cloudy again. This is the Spring turnover.
The lake which was initially clear after ice-off now is
cloudy. As the year progresses, the lake again
becomes stratified with warm surface water and
cool bottom water. This completes the cycle, which
is now again beginning.
I hope that this sheds
some light on the topic
of water clarity from a
lake turnover standpoint. In future articles I
will touch upon water
clarity as it relates to
other causes for
change such as algal growth and how this is
affected by phosphorus content.
Frozen Down Under
By Stephanie Boismenue, AIS
Lead Program Assistant,
Oneida County Land & Water
Conservation Department
Did you know that several AIS such as Zebra
Mussels, Eurasian water milfoil, and Curly-leaf
Pondweed can tolerate extreme winter
conditions including cold water temperatures
and low light? It’s
true! In fact, AIS
can be transported and spread
during the winter
in the same
manner as in
summer. Who
would have
guessed it? This
is why Oneida
County AIS
Coordinator,
Michele
Sadauskas, developed the Oneida County AIS
Ice Angler Survey and AIS winter outreach
program. The survey was created to provide a
better understanding of ice angler’s fishing
habits and perception of AIS and consisted of
11 simple questions with no right or wrong
answers.
From 2012 to 2014, the Oneida County AIS
Team put the survey and outreach program to
the test. They visited boat landings, traveled
the lakes, and attended ice fishing tournaments to discuss AIS with ice anglers and
encouraged them to complete the survey. The
Team found that AIS outreach during the
winter months generated engaging, productive,
and positive AIS discussions with ice anglers.
Why? Because, unlike the open-water season,
when AIS dialog must move rapidly due to
rushed activities at busy boat landings, most
ice anglers are not in a hurry!
Anglers were willing to complete the survey
and discuss AIS while they were fishing and
waiting for tip-ups. In addition, the Team was
able to identify and discuss plants caught in ice
augers, fishing lines, and lures. For the
complete survey, visit www.
http://www.oneidacountyais.com/ice-fishingoutreach.html
Here is a sample of survey questions and results
TLWA Helps Turtles
Cross Local Roads Safely
By Jon Willman
From late May to early July, female turtles migrate to
upland areas to nest. In too many instances, they
have to cross roads to lay eggs in suitable habitat.
Traffic on our town roads causes a significant number
of adult turtle deaths. Last Spring, the Three Lakes
Girl Scouts, working with WDNR Conservation
Warden Pat Novesky and the Town of Three Lakes,
helped raise public awareness of turtle crossings on
our town roads. The Scouts took on the project as a
public service program holding fund raisers and
obtaining materials and permission to mark town
roads and erect signs. This year, the Three Lakes
Waterfront Association assisted the effort by
sponsoring additional signs to mark popular crossing
areas on North Big Lake Loop and CTH X.
Association President Ed Jacobsen summed up the
effort: “We encourage every driver to give our turtles a
brake – slow down, let them cross or give them a
helping hand.”
Supporting the turtle crossing awareness effort is Three Lakes
Waterfront Association President Ed Jacobsen with Three Lakes Town
crew members Bryan Cirks and Brian Slizewski and Wisconsin DNR
Conservation Warden Pat Novesky at the North Big Lake Loop Bridge.
The good news is local motorists seem to be getting
the message. Warden Pat reports seeing three cars
with hazard lights on helping turtles cross North Big
Lake Loop - all in one day! He came upon
another gentleman on CTH X helping a big snapper
across the road. So far in 2015, we’ve had no
mortalities on marked town roads.
If you see a turtle crossing the road, and would like to
help, proceed with caution. Pull over and put your
emergency flashers on. Help the turtle across to the
side it was facing and walking toward. Be careful,
snapping turtles can bite – if you’re not comfortable
picking a snapper up, try using a stick for them to bite
down on, then gently drag them across the road.
Never lift a turtle by the tail – you can cause it serious
injury.
The Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program
encourages citizens to report where and when they
see turtles – alive and dead. You can go online to
record turtle crossing points (wiatri.net/inventory/
WIturtles), or print out the online form (Road Crossing
Mortality and Turtle Sighting Form) and mail it the
DNR. You can also e-mail questions about the
Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program to
[email protected].
Signs warn drivers of potential crossing areas.
Virgin Lake Perspective
Ups and Downs Over Five
Years
By Larry Roth, Bob Borek and Larry Zibell
Disappointed
Of course there was some shock involved in
realizing that Virgin Lake had Eurasian Water
Milfoil. This was followed by frustration that no one
had absolute answers regarding exactly what to do
to eliminate it. This was followed by more
frustration around how long it takes to learn some
hard lessons about which treatment methods are
effective under what lake conditions.
Living on the lake allows residents to pinpoint new
growth and address it before it gets out of control.
Thanks again to all those volunteer hours!
Water levels have probably been critical to first
encouraging weed growth and then a few years
later helping make treatment efforts even more
effective.
Bottom line is that knowing what to look for in
identifying invasive species is essential in catching
a problem early on and thereby avoiding huge
expenses in the future. Catch it early, treat it
aggressively and you can minimize the long term
costs.
The whole process over the last 4-5 years has
been a learning process for the people in the lake
treatment business as well as the owners on the
lake.
Hopeful
Why are we hopeful about the future? Largely
because we have a very active and dedicated
TLWA to educate folks and organize actions to
address problems like EWM.
Placing buoys around the lake has been helpful in
creating EWM awareness but only marginally
helpful in keeping people out of specific areas
where EWM is present. (The buoys could certainly
be more effective IF all the lake users are fully
informed about the EWM threat and they act
cooperatively in heeding the buoy warnings.)
Our hope is that invasive species can be detected
early, dealt with quickly through an expedited
permitting process and controlled here and
elsewhere in the chain. The Waterfront Association
and (especially the Adopt-A-Shoreline and Clean
Boats/Clean Waters programs) are essential to
accomplishing this goal.
Encouraged
We continue to be thankful for and impressed by
TLWA grant writers, Oneida County AIS staff, and
Wisconsin DNR. They have all been very helpful in
training, education, and in funding the TLWA efforts
to combat EWM.
It is up to all of us to be:
1. Informed - understand invasive species we
are faced with and be ready to take action,
2. Responsible - communicate to
guests/visitors to stay out of affected areas
and keep our boats clean,
3. Vigilant - in inspecting boats and shorelines.
The end result (so far) is that EWM is only found in
a small fraction of the areas on our lake compared
to what it was. We hate to think where our lake
would be if action had not been taken early on and
then followed up on each year since.
We feel everyone is in a better position now
because there are processes and strategies in
place to address any future observations of EWM.
There are now written procedures in place for
getting buoys placed as well as appropriate diver
and/or chemical treatments into action.
What we have learned is that the timing of
treatment in Spring is critical, treatments are
becoming more effective through changes in
application approaches, and they are all based on
the same commonly used herbicide chemical.
Virgin Lake volunteers Adrian Sommer, Bob Agen, Larry
Zibell, and Bob Borek getting ready to launch the
warning buoys.
Another Perspective
Not on my Lake
By Ed Jacobsen
It’s funny how we call the lake we live on “my lake”.
Well we do and Townline is my lake and I love it. It
is small, round, not a through lake on the chain but
a spur type lake which is usually calm with very tall
trees all around except for a clear area toward
Town. That clear area makes it a great place to
watch the fireworks on July 4th. You can almost
walk from boat to boat on that night with green and
red lights dotting the whole surface.
It even has the best landing and launch area on the
chain. That project gave me a bit of concern as the
improvement would bring more traffic to my lake
and who wants that?
Well I am in the tourism
business and we need
all the tourists we can
get so our local
economy can thrive, or
at least do a little better
each year. But tourists
bring foreign matter into
our chain so there is
that side of things too.
When this beautiful chain was created God also
created a nice bushy plant and called it Northern
Milfoil. That made sense since we are in the north,
He knew that. He also created Eurasian Milfoil and
put it in Europe and Asia and told it to stay there.
I guess Europe and Asia had names and we were
just north. It didn’t stay where He put it. I am not
sure God planned on global trade when He started
this whole thing and He would probably have to
Google “tourist” but when they all got together we
had invasives.
For timely information on
important issues affecting
our lakes and waterfront
property, visit the TLWA
website at:
www.TLWA.org
TLWA would like to hear from
you. Got a favorite story,
historical story or other item
of interest? Send all items or
suggestions to Norris Ross at
[email protected].
One day in June I got a call from Norris Ross, our
lake management planning coordinator, and he
said that, our lake limnologists (Onterra), found a
Eurasian Water Milfoil plant on my lake. WHAT???
My lake? Don’t they know I am the president? I
don’t want that stuff in our chain anywhere but
certainly not on my lake.
This is where I got a real wake-up call. That plant
on my lake was so much worse that the ones we
had found 10 years ago in the Long Lake channel
and three years ago in Virgin Lake. It was so much
worse, because it directly affected me. I had seen
how diligently and tirelessly Bob Agen, Bob Borek,
Larry Zibell and many others worked on corralling
the small infestation we found on their lake and I
admired that but after all it was their lake. Now it
was my lake. Somehow that attitude is not right.
They are all my lake and your lake since it is a
chain of lakes and one feeds the other. In a sense
it is all one lake.
Happy ending part here: the one on my lake is
gone and we haven’t found any brothers, sisters or
cousins…yet. The ones in the Long Lake channel
are very hard to find and we haven’t seen very
many in Virgin. Virgin Lake went from 10 acres to
maybe a plant here and there but the large
infestation is no longer prevalent. If all of us keep
watching for invasives on our lake, we can catch it
early, be it on your lake, my lake or our lake.
TLWA Annual Meeting – July 9
Guest Speaker Highlights
Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County AIS
Coordinator, updated members on the status of
several invasive species
either new to the area or
posing a future threat.
New species of concern
include: Butterbur, an
aggressive invader of
wetlands and wooded
shade with moist soils;
Phragmites, also very
aggressive, is very tall
and excludes other
wetland/wet soil plants;
Spiny Water Flea, is a
tiny (1/8" thick body) and
translucent aquatic
invertebrate with a sharp spine. The Flea feeds on
the bottom of the food chain competing with
juvenile game fish and prey. When eaten, the
Flea’s spine gets stuck in the digestive tract and is
hard to digest; and, Fawcets snail has been found
in Langlade County. The snail is the host to
parasitic flatworms that can hit fish hard. The 1/4"
x 1/2" snail is easily transported by stream
fishermen on boots and waders.
Dave Hintz, County Board Chairman and TLWA
member, and Karl Jennrich, Oneida County Zoning
Admnistrator, provided a progress report on the
County’s effort to update the shoreland zoning
ordinance. Unfortunately local (County) authority to
exceed/deviate from the State minimum
requirements to address environmental and water
quality concerns specific to local waters was
rescinded in the budget bill process and approved
by the Governor. Hintz noted that the County must
now wait to see how the DNR interprets the revised
State law and develops implementation and
enforcement rules. Some County concerns such
as impervious surface and vegetative management
standards are still of concern.
Bob Martini (L) and Rick
Foral (R) of the Oneida
County Lakes and Rivers
Association spoke to the
ever increasing need to
protect our lakes in order to
protect our local economy
and our property values.
Protecting water quality,
Spiny Water Flea
Sadauskas also noted that lakes without public
access aren't free or safe from invasive species.
Boats launched from private lands lack warning
signs and are not inspected.
aquatic habitats, and
shorelines are essential
to maintaining values.
They noted that the
OCLRA conducted a 20
county survey to
determine the best legal
and management
practices that other
counties are using and
have been working to
implement the best at the
County level. Those
efforts have now been usurped by passage of
the State budget bill as noted above.
Membership
TLWA Grows to 1,020
By Mike Freehill
We thank each of you for your ongoing support. It
has been instrumental in keeping TLWA’s
membership strong and growing.
Help us keep on growing. Encourage your friends
and neighbors to become TLWA members.
Total membership grew this year to 1,020 … up
25% from 812 in May 2014 … and up 55% from
657 in May 2013. Our members now represent
51% of lake property owners in the Three Lakes
area.
In the News
New memberships increased by 100 thanks to our
lake property owner recruitment campaign, Gift-AMembership program
and complimentary
memberships for new
home buyers.
Renewals have been
strong, with 80%
complete thus far and
95% expected by end
of year.
Our 102 business members deserve special
mention for their support of TLWA’s mission to
preserve the quality and beauty of our lakes. You
will find all of these local businesses listed in your
TLWA Business Directory. Please think of them
first for all your goods and service needs.
The US Forest Service closed the Laurel Lake Campground
this past year. Town Supervisor Pat Volk sprang into action
and worked out the details for the Town of Three Lakes to
open the campground for the summer of 2015. TLWA
provided funds to help make the project successful. Here Pat
and Ed work out the arrangement.
The Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department
recently recognized TLWA for its outstanding work in lake
management. TLWA has been successful in limiting and
controlling the spread of invasive species in the Three Lakes
Chain of Lakes. Shown with the award, from left, are Mike
Freehill, membership director, Bruce Renquist, AAS
Coordinator, and Bob Agen, CB/CW Coordinator.
Thank You Volunteers
Adopt-A-Shoreline and Clean Boats/Clean Waters volunteers gathered
in August to share aquatic issue experiences and had a good time enjoying
pizza. All received a gift certificate compliments of the Three Lakes Winery.